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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet L B. H. GEDGE & H. MEYERER.

NAIL MACHINE.

No. 325,670. H Patented Sept. 8, 1885.

fig. F

. 2 Sheets--Sheet 2. B. H. GEDGE & H. MEYERER.

NAIL MACHINE.

(No Model.)

No. 325,670. Patented Sept. 8, 1885.

N. PETiRi PMlvLhhographu, Wishinginn. D,C.

UNITE STATES ATENT Fries.

BURTON H. GEDGE AND HENRY MEYERER, OF COVINGTOX, KENTUChY, ASSlGNOR-S TO THE AMERIGANIVIRE NAIL COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

NAIL-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 325,670, dated September 8, 1885. Application filed Octohcrflll, 1884. (No model.)

1 all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, BURTON H. Gnnen and HENRY MEYERER, residents of Covington, in the county of Kenton and State of 5 Kentucky,have invented certain new and use fnl Improvements in IVireNail Machines, of which the following is a specification.

There has been in extensive usein this country a machine for making wire nails which is patented in Germany, and here is usually known as the German machine. Practically it has superseded all other machines,because of its great merit; yet it has certain defects, to remedy which is the object of our invent-ion.

In forming the nail the action of the ma chine is as follows: Between a pair'of strong jaws the wire is firmly held, a short end of it projecting beyond the surface of the jaws. A

hammer now strikes the projecting end of the wire and flattens it against the jaws, forming the head of the nail. As the hammer is retracted the jaws open slightly, the wire is thrust forward, and a pair of cutters nip the nail off at the appropriate lengtl1,leaving projecting beyond the edge of the jaws a small portion of wire, as before, to form the head. A finger or snapper now drops and knocks off the nail which has not been entirely severed from the wire by the cutters, and the machine is ready for another stroke of the hammer.

As all parts of this mechanism but one work by direct action it is possible to put its speed at ahigh' figure; but on account of the fact that the hammer is thrown by a spring instead of positive mechanism, as are the other parts, the extreme rate ofspced possible to attain with these other parts is lessened on account of the hammer, for which all the rest must 40 hold back, enforcing a very considerable loss in the number of nails which the machine is otherwise capable of producing in a given time. Another disadvantage of this German machine liesin thefactthatthe hammers stroke is not1i1nited,but that it strikes against the face of the jaws when there is no wire to meet it,

and in this way shakes and jars the whole machine and damages it.

Our invention provides a hammerfor this machine whose motion is positive,and which,

necessarily keeping up with the rest of the machinery,permits the machine to attain its highest possible rate of speed. Indeed,so great is the advantage arising from this cause that instead of one hundred and eighty-five nails per minnte,the highest speed of the German machine, the machine as furnished with our improve ments is capable of making three hundred and fifty nails per minute.

The nature of our improvements and the several advantages resulting from their use will be apparent from the following description and claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a top viewof the machine provided with our improvements. Fig.2, Sheet 2, is a rear view, showing the attachment of the hammerbar to the crank. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, isa detached perspective showing the arrangement of the 7c hammer and crank. Fig. 4, Sheet 2, shows the crank in side elevation.

The machine is mounted on an appropriate frame, A, which is partially covered by the table B. (See Fig. 1.) The wire C- passes between a series of rollers, c c, and is fed forward bymeans of a clutch-feed, D, operated by a connecting-rod, E, attached to a crank,

f, on the wheel F.

At G are seen the jaws which hold the wire while the head is being made. These jaws are closed by the lever I-I, operated by the cam I. The free end portion of this lever is kept against the cam I by a spring, t.

The levers K, respectively fulcrumed at jj 8 5 in the frame A, and operated by the sides of the cams 7., move the cutters L in and out in order to clip off the formed nail.

A finger or snapper, M, is fulcrumed on the axle m, and back of this axle m it bifurcates, forming two arms, m, which rest on the circumference of the cams In. These cams k are so shaped and set as to throw the finger or snapper M downward at the proper moment to knock off the nail at C. The cams hand I are preferably operated by a shaft, as X, to which they are respectively fixed, this shaft being rotated by suitable mechanism-as, for example, gears S S S the latter gear being fixed on and rotated by shaft N.

IOO

The shaft N is provided with the tight and loose pulleys O O, by means of which the mechanism is operated. The shaft itself is provided with a crank or cam, n, Fig. etnvhich fits between brasses or journal-bearings I. These bearings are provided with small flanges or shoulders 11, holding the bearings in position between the slides R R". The slides R R form the end of the hammer-rod or hammer R, and form the means of changing the rotary motion of the shaft to a reciprocating motion on the part of the hammer It. These slides are preferably connected together by the adjustable rods, preferably screw-rods, as W. This mode of connection not only enables the bearings Pto be more readily introduced, but also enables them to be held together to the desired extent, and be moved toward one another as they or the shaft N or axle, or both, Wear.

From the mechanism first described it is evident that each revolution of the machine produces a positive stroke of the hammer,the other operations of feeding,cutting, and throwing down the nail being performed at the proper time.

Vith the old machine, in which the spring was used for driving the hammer, there was not sufficient time for the hammer to make its stroke before it had to be retracted,and conse quently when run over a certain speed the nails would be formed without heads. As already stated, the machine as provided with our improvements is capable of attaining a speed about seventy per cent. greater than the old machine,and of course of making a perfect nail at each stroke.

It sometimes happens that the wire used is not homogeneous throughout, but that there are points in it which present greater resistance to the hammer than others. The effect of this was with the old machine to makenails with heads of varying thicknesses, because the force of the hammer driven by the same spring was a yielding one. WVhen it met a hard piece of wire it yielded more than when it met a soft piece, and therefore it did not compress i the head of a hard piece of wire as much as when it met a soft piece. Now this proved a matter of great inconvenience, for in the places where the wire nails are driven by machinery it is essential to the proper working of the holder that the heads of the nails should be uniform.

In our machine the heads are made by a positive movement of the hammer, which approaches to within a certain distance from the jaws, and necessarily compresses whatever it meets into this size.

The special advantages of our improved machine are its greater speed,with attendant advantages,ainong which are an increased product, the makingof a more uniform nail, and less wear and tear of the machine from jarring.

\Vhat we claim as new and of our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a wire-nail machine, the combination of the wire-feeding devices, wire-holding device, hammer B, shaft N, crank or cam a, bearings P, and guides R R and nippers, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a wire-nail machine, the combination of the wire-feeding devices, wire-holding device, hammer R, shaft N, crank or cam 11, bearings P, guides R R and adjustable connections NV, and nippers, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. The combination of the rollers 0, feed D, lever E, crank f, jaws G, lever H, cam 1, spring t, cutters L L,levers K,'fingers or snappersM M, cams k, shaft X, gears S S S", shaft N, crank or cam n, bearings P P, guide-slides RR", and hammer R, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

BURTON H. GEDGE. HENRY MEYERER.

Attest:

J NO. WV. STREHLI,

O. M. HILL. 

